the man in the orange suit, fashion designer oswal boateng. >> as soon as i saw him, it was like this is the answer to everything that i want in life. >> at the time poku, who came to the united states with his family from ghana in 2000, was in school studying to be an electrical engineer, a career his parents hand picked for him. his experience with the sewing machine was limited to watching his mother sew african clothes and tailoring department store clothes to fit his 29-inch waist. making a living creating clothes was something poku said he never considered possible until watching ozwald boateng. he skipped his first class that day to immediately get started on a career in fashion. >> i grabbed my best sheet and cut my first pants. let's just say both legs went in. that was it. >> poku dropped out of college much to his parent's chagrin and

immediately started looking for an apprenticeship and never found the right one so like a mechanic who deconstructs engines poku taught himself. >> i studied by buying clothes, taking them apart, learning the construction and trial and error. >> it wasn't until later he realized he had quite a lot in common of the man in the orange suit, the one who allowed him to think a career in fashion was possible. >> everything was like he was in school, and then he just w t went, and he was also self-taught, so i feel like -- >> though poku never wanted to be just a tailor, it's that attention to detail and fit that helped him win the emerging designer award and win both the peoples choice and emerging designer award as charleston's fashion week. accolades that poku says reaffirms the decision he made to follow his own dream, regardless of where it leads. >> this is my way of life, my

calling. i was put on earth to do this. >> want to learn more about poku, check it out, cnn.com under the living tab. i'm don lemon at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. thank you so much for joining us. have a great night and a fantastic week. see you back here next weekend. so is this finally winter's last gasp? the calendar says spring but the scene says snow from the midwest all the way to the atlantic seaboard. >> manda knox in a new fight for her freedom. a hearing to decide if she will be tried again for murder. cage match. man versus shark. a tourist terrified when a great white gets all up in his grill. and cinderella still dancing.

florida gulf coast and its dunk city act advancing to the ncaa sweet 16 making history along the way. good morning, everyone. happy monday. welcome to "early start." i'm poppy harlow. >> and i'm john berman. it is friday, march 25th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. we're going to start with the epic seasonal lie. no matter what anyone tells you, it's not spring. from missouri to pennsylvania, millions of people are dealing with rain, snow, potentially dangerous wind this morning. the mix proved dangerous from indianapolis. cars collided on slick, icy roads. look at this scene in kansas city, missouri. the storm causing significant disruptions at the airport. this is not done yet. parts of eastern indiana and western ohio are under a winter storm warning from early this afternoon. the system continues to track eastward. we got it covered for you. suzanne candiotti in dayton, ohio and jennifer delgado in the cnn weather center. we're going to start with

suzanne instanting in the snow, in the spring, in dayton, ohio. good morning, susan. >> reporter: good morning, john and poppy. you know, as one youngster told me, i haven't seen one flower yet! that's right. what kind of spring is this? and here comes the trusty ruler, john and poppy. we're going to do this right up top here. right here in this spot, five inches. that's what they were talking about in this region. anywhere from five to eight. the snow isn't over yet. we remain under a winter warning until about 2:00 this afternoon. some of the streets, it's been a wet snow. some streets are wet. but remember the temperature is just below freezing. you might be seeing some black ice out there. slushy streets in other areas. it has been a wild weather weekend all the way from the colorado rockies to the southeast. icy roads, slippery going near st. louis as a pickup truck slides down a street.

just about everyone's tired of winter weather in spring. >> it's crazy. i'm just sick of all the snow. like i was so ready for it back at christmas. now i'm over it. >> reporter: plows were tripling up in some parts of missouri as relentless snow blanketed highways. at lambert st. louis international airport, nasty weather forcing cancellations. >> right now it's just going to be a long day sitting around waiting. one flight canceled. been rerouted. >> reporter: the severe weather sweeping into the south. high winds up rooting trees in central florida. >> i can't believe the tree fell on the car. this guy got it a lot worse than i did. >> reporter: violent thunderstorms washing out tiger woods' shot and a number one ranking after two holes at the arnold palmer ini have tensional. flooded fairways postponing the tournament. at lo at orlando international airport, a jet swept against a hanger. in kansas city, eight inches of

snow forced churches to call off services. coloradans were among the first to feel the storm's fury. whiteout conditions, 150 mile stretch of interstate shut down. a major pile up on i-25 that left a tractor-trailer in flames. by late sunday in indiana and ohio, the skies opened up dropping freezing rain and snowmaking people wonder, where is spring? >> when it comes, it comes. this is ohio. we get snow. >> everybody says oh, yeah spring is around the corner. >> reporter: that's right. spring's around the corner but not here just yet. at least when you look around. you know, we understand that in the entire month of february, the dayton area had four inches of snow. clearly this one snowfall is taking care of that. that young man will have some school delays. other schools in this area are closed for the day. john? back to you. >> susan candiotti, hopefully we

can put that ruler away soon. let's go to parts of kentucky and tennessee where people there have been dealing with hail and very strong winds. a reporter sending us video from front porches and apartment windows. when can we get a break from this extreme weather? let's bring in jennifer delgado. doesn't look like spring. doesn't feel like spring. what's ahead? >> i know. everybody is complaining about it. they want to know when are we going to finally warm up? you saw the storms coming out of the midwest. the good news is we're not going to see any severe weather today. we're just talking all snow. still, a lot of snow to talk about in many areas covered from illinois all the way over towards pennsylvania. you can see down to kentucky as well as into tennessee. we're dealing with snow where susan was in dayton. still looking for snow coming your way. cincinnati, und nap li

cincinnati, indianapolis, you'll get the backside of the snow. four to six in some parts. cleveland, the bulk of the snowfall will be to the south. but we're talking winter storm warnings and advisory in place all the way over towards new york city. you can see anywhere in pink and red we are talking about three to five inches of snowfall. again, that includes areas like new jersey. now as we zoom in a bit more for you, to get to your morning commute, interstate 95, notice snow coming down in washington, d.c. we're expecting for you anywhere between one or two inches. you've got a really nice burst coming through right now. for new york city for the five boroughs, we're talking potentially one to three. more of that arriving later in the afternoon. for pennsylvania, it is snowing out now and continue to spread in from west to east as we track this for you very quickly, want to show you here's our low that is moving to the north. one off the coast. that's what's bringing the snow for parts of new york city as we head late near the day. poppy, back over to you.

winter still feels like it's here even though spring is on the books. >> it does. i was getting ready at 1:00 a.m. and i put my snow boots on. i thought it's almost april. thank you. >> that may have had more to do with the 1:00 a.m. thing. six minutes after the hour. secretary of state john kerry remains in the middle east this morning. on sunday he met with the syrian president but he made little headway convincing him to stop allowing the flow of arms and troops fueling syria's bloody civil war. secretary kerry is accusing iraq of helping syrian president by allowing arms and fighters from iran to cross into syria from iraq. and former penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky breaking silence from behind bars. a documentary filmmaker said he has recordings of telephone conversations with sandusky in jail that will air today on nbc. the family of the late joe paterno, the head football coach whose legendary career ended in disgrace is already speaking out. they call the recording, "a sad

and unfortunate development that is transparently self-serving and yet another insult to the victims and anyone who cares about the truth in this tragic story." a public memorial service for colorado's prison chief will be held today in colorado springs. come clemens was laid to rest yesterday. he was shot and killed tuesday in his driveway. the man who police believe was responsible, a white supremacist and parolee was killed thursday in a shootout in texas. he's also believed to have killed a pizza delivery man just days before clemens was shot. this is big. the supreme court takes up the issue of same-sex marriage tomorrow. dozens of people have been camping out in front of the supreme court since friday braving freezing weather, trying to get a seat at the historic hearing. the court will hear oral arguments on california's proposition eight on wednesday. they will take up the defense of marriage act. both laws ban same-sex marriage.

a decision will not come until later this year. "the new york times" had a really interesting article saying a lot of the people in line are paid place holders in that line. >> i wouldn't be surprised. >> i think there are 50 seats people are dying to get their hands on. $13 billion deal in place to bail out cyprus. the european union agreeing to rescue the island nation from economic collapse. the plan shrinks cyprus' bloated banking system and account holders at some banks with balances over $100,000ure yoez, they could suffer heavy losses. it calls for dismantling of the popular bank of cyprus with shareholders and bond holders expectsed to be wiped out. one lucky powerball winner is holding a tickets worth $338.3 more this morning. it was sold in new jersey. it is the fourth largest jackpot and powerball history. the lump sum payout, $221 million. here are the winning numbers from saturday in case you have that ticket. 17, 29, 31, 52, 53, powerball is

31. >> sigh. not me. >> sigh. not me. i lot of next story so much. i know you do. >> i love it. for the first time in ncaa history, a 15 seed is advancing to the sweet 16. florida gulf coast made history with their dunk city acrobatics. man, is this team fun? the eagles knocking off san diego state last night. they were the better team on the court. they've only been diversion one for six years. i think the school didn't start until the '90s. so they'll have to beat the florida gators friday night, a three seed, to make it to the elite eight. that could be tough. man, like i said, they are super fun to watch. >> how can you not be on their side in this? >> we're all on their side. all right, this was the murder trial that captivated the world. you know it well. could it happen again to amanda knox? we go live to rome where a decision on a retrial could come down any minute. plus, look at this video. a great white gives some underwater adventurers more than they bargain for.

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welcome back. happening now, prosecutors in italy making their case before that country's highest court to retry amanda knox for murder. they're hearing arguments as we speak. the american student has been free since an appellate court in italy overturned her conviction in the deadly stabbing of a british student back in 2007. the one day hearing could also free knox of slander charges. that would clear the way for her to sue her accusers. cnn's ben weidaman is live in rome with the latest. >> reporter: hello. the court is due to meet within an hourment it could decide whether this is the final legal chapter for amanda knox in italy or the beginning of yet another sensational trial. an emotionally overcome amanda

knox is led from an italian courtroom moments after learning she was free at last. the murder conviction against her and former boyfriend overturned on appeal. that was october 2011. they spent four years in prison for the 2007 sexual assault and murder of her roommate, a british exchange student. it was a tabloid case that riveted the media, attracting an army of journalists to the medieval town where knox and kircher were studying italian language and culture. knox's tearful return to her family home in seattle, washington, seemed like the end of her ordeal. but it may not have been the end after all. the prosecution is demanding a retrial and will appeal the conviction before the italian supreme court in rome. the wheels of italian justice,

however, grind slowly. if the acquittal is jefr turnov the case could go to an appellate court. if that happens, knox may have to return to italy. if she refuses, the authorities could appeal to the u.s. government for her extradition. if the acquittal is upheld, it's case over. a native of the ivory coast who was raised here is serving a 16-year prison term for kircher's murder. if, in fact, there is a retrial, the question is will amanda knox come to italy? she is currently in seattle, washington. the italian authorities would have to request extradition from the american government. and it's not at all clear at this point whether the u.s. government would be willing to hand amanda knox back to the italian authorities. poppy? >> that is the big question. thank you very much, ben. 16 minutes after the hour right now. let's bring you up to date. the calendar may say spring. do not trust it for a second.

from missouri to pennsylvania, millions of people hammered by wind, rain and snow and the severe weather is not done yet. parts of eastern indiana and western ohio were under a winter storm warning from early this afternoon and the system is headed east. a very sad story for you this morning. a group skydiving trip taking a tragic turn. an instructor and student from iceland found dead in a wooded area in florida. investigators say neither of them attempted to deploy they're main parachutes and may have lost their altitude awareness. the backup parachutes were activated automatically but too late to save them. we're also told the student who was killed had executed several successful jumps previously. a train conductor in houston is accused of failing to conduct himself properly. authorities say robert harving stole 50 train horns since 2009 and told them on ebay.

union pacific officials say every train engine missing a horn has to be taken out of service and fixed. they say hartman's actions cost the railroad half a million dollars. >> who is buying those? berman, for your office? >> i need souvenirs like that. look at this video. adventure seekers getting too close for comfort with great white sharks off the coast of south africa. take a look. this is like a scene out of "jaws." >> whoa! [ beep ] >> the tourist thought they were safe inside that cage as the great white sharks checked out the bait. but one shark skipped that, tries to go right for the divers. his entire head went inside the cage, narrowly mised two divers. as horrific as this looks, nobody got hurt. i think their hearts stopped for a moment. the man that shot that incredible video is going to join us in our 8:00 a.m. hour live on "starting point."

>> you heard the bleeps version. the unbleeped version has the most creative language i have ever heard in my life. when a shark is attacking you, the things you'll say. coming up, a tiny country with a huge impact worldwide. why wall street is paying attention to cyprus this morning. stay with us. the patient, presented with a hairline fracture to the mandible and contusions to the metacarpus. what do you see? um, i see a duck. be more specific. i see the aflac duck. i see the aflac duck out of work and not making any money. i see him moving in with his parents and selling bootleg dvds out of the back of a van. dude, that's your life. remember, aflac will give him cash to help cover his rent, car payments and keep everything as normal as possible. i see lunch. [ monitor beeping ] let's move on. [ male announcer ] find out what a hospital stay could really cost you at aflac.com. bacon?! bacon? bacon! who wants a beggin' strip? meee! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum, yum, yum... it's bacon!!! mmmmm...i love you. i love bacon. i love you.

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welcome back to "early start." stock futures are pointing higher following that bailout agreement in cyprus. >> christine romans watching wall street. tiny country, huge impact. very different than last week the reaction when this crisis unfolded. >> futures are up. cyprus really matters to what is happening in europe. cyprus, 0.2% of the euro-zone economy. it's banking sector accounts for mostst economy. what is happening there has wall street's attention because of the precedent it may set for other struggling nations. also, russian business has about $19 billion in cyprus. that's according to mootiedy's. wall street happy with the plan in place right now. it's also the last week of the first quarter. check out your investments this morning. if you haven't looked in a while the you'll be pleased. the s&p 500 is up more than 9% over the first three months of 2013. you can see the rally took off from november of last year. 9% will be a solid return for the entire year.

but it's happened only in the first three months of this year. the s&p 500 is up 11% over the past year overall. over and over, when is this going to end? that is nearly impossible to preticket. there is one ratio that wall street looks to and it shows that prices are still fairly valued right now, maybe even cheap at least historically speaking. look at this. this is something that measures the value of the stock market compared to what companies are making, what they're earning. it is the price to earnings ratio. at the end of the 1990s bull market, it was 29. 2002-2007, it was at 17%. historical average during good times and bad times is 16%. today, the s&p 500 -- or the pe ratio of the s&p 500 is below all that, 15%. interesting, right? >> so when people keep saying i can't get in the market now because it's too high, we really don't know. >> we never know. you know, you don't know if you're getting in at the end. you don't know if you're getting in at the beginning. the ends of bull markets tend to

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it is the first monday of spring. spring, i tell you. it looks a lot like winter for a big swath of the country. a 9-year-old girl's survival instinct. a hike through treacherous terrain after a deadly crash. a dose of reality for the amazing race. outrage leads to a prime time apology to war veterans. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm poppy harlow. it is monday, march 25th, 29 minutes past the hour. we begin this morning with a brutal beginning to the work week because of severe weather across the country. people in six states now dealing with a very hefty cleanup from missouri to pennsylvania. millions of people battling rain, snow, and potential danger this morning from wind. all of that slush making roads slick and treacherous. perfect conditions for fender benders, folks.

look at the scene in kansas city, missouri. causing significant disruptions at lambert st. louis international airport. and the storm is not done yet. parts of eastern indiana and western ohio under a winter storm warning through early this afternoon. the system continues to track eastward right toward us. we got it covered for you though. shannon traffic sis in maryland weather season. what you are season? >> reporter: hard to believe this is the first week of spring, right? we're here in potomac, maryland. it's been coming down steadily. me and my cameraman eddie were driving in. it was like a blinding whiteout. i want to give you a sense of the accumulation here. very unsif tiun tifk, onscienti two inches. this is the kind that is coming down and sticking together. we're right on i-270.

this is a main artery that feeds straight into d.c. commuters come from as far west as west virginia, as far north as pennsylvania. this is basically taking them right into the nation's capital. right now, poppy, the traffic is moving along pretty well. 35 minutes from here to d.c. but expect traffic nightmares basically once this thing really picks up. forecasters are warning the slush and snow on the roads, slippery conditions especially on the overpasses and bridges. so commuters be warned and be careful. again, this is the kind of snow that's weighing down pretty heavy. you can see on this tree right here how the snow, poppy, is just hanging on the branches there. that's the kind of snow that can potentially bring down tree limbs and affect power lines also. that's another serious concern. we'll be out here for a while. i'll keep sticking my feet in the snow, poppy, to see how deep it actually goes. >> making it look good, shannon.

thank you. >> what a mess it is. in central florida, the storms brought down trees. i'm talking about huge mammoth trees, completely toppled over. roads exposed. really the question everyone wants to know right now, when will spring actually show up? why are you keeping it from us, jennifer delgado? joining us now from atlanta. >> oh, great. you just make me out like i'm a grinch or something. keeping spring away from you. we're suffering down here in atlanta, too. we're going to see a high of 45 degrees but we'll have sunshine. we're talking a lot of snow out there. snow coming down as i said from illinois all the way over to pennsylvania down towards kentucky as well as into areas including knoxville, tennessee. so what is happening here? of course this is a late season snow. and that's why we do have winter storm warnings and advisories in place. anywhere you're seeing from the west, we're going to potentially see another one to four inches of snowfall. that includes parts of illinois, indiana, as well as into the ohio valley. and for regions like cincinnati,

possibly four to six inches of snowfall. right along the mountains, you, of course, going to be the big winner. we could see potentially a foot of snowfall. for washington, d.c., we're talking the metro area. about one to two inches in areas to the north and west could see potentially about four and then for the southern shore of new jersey, three to five inches. new york city, potentially one to three arriving later into the afternoon. as we look a bit closer into the mid-atlantic, you can see for yourself a good batch of snow coming down very white, very bright across washington, d.c., as well as into baltimore. we'll continue with that throughout the morning. so be careful on the roadways. we're talking very slick conditions. winter storm warnings and advisories for the mid-atlantic is going to stay in place really until midnight tonight in some of these locations. as we track this low, you can see the low to the west, we'll call this a game of pac-man. it is going to be swallowed up by the low from the coast. the good news is it's pulling away. it's not going to mean big snow

for boston. new england, you're finally going to be spared. and look at some of the totals out there. we're talking records. for st. louis, 12.4 inches of snowfall. let me show what you it looks like akrs st. loucross st. loui. video of the st. louis arch. you're not seeing too much there. the wind blowing the snow around. you also see that through parts of the northeast. of course, they know how to deal with big snow in st. louis. they get a lot of that stuff there. guys? >> poppy, your boots, they're not going to get a lot of action but one to three inchesment they might get a little. >> a little bit. >> thank you, jennifer. secretaries of state john kerry trying his hardest to stop the bloodshed in syria's civil war that continues to rage as he travels in the middle east this morning. on sunday, he met with iraqi president but apparently made very little head way in convincing him to stop allowing the flow of arms and troops into syria. secretary kerry wants tighter scrutiny of overflights in iraq. he's accusing iraq of helping

syrian president by allowing arms and fighters from iran to cross into syria through iraq. new this morning, the european union agreeing to rescue the island nation of cyprus from economic collapse. the bailout deal is worth $13 billion. it shrinks cyprus' bloated banking system. some account holders will suffer heavy losses. it calls for dismantling popular bank of cyprus with shareholders and bond holders to be wiped out. very sad story to tell you this morning. a state law maker in mississippi suspected of shooting and killing herself in a former colleague's home. that's what investigators suspect this morning. 53-year-old jessica upshaw's body was found yesterday in clint rottensberry home. she served in the legislature for ten years representing a district along the gulf coast. amazing tale of survival by

a 9-year-old girl after a horrifying accident that killed her father. the california highway patrol says she was with him in an suv when it veered off california's remote highway and rolled hundreds of feet down an embankment. the girl escaped and ran up the hill in complete darkness to a nearby house. when no one answered, she checked on her dad again and then climbed 200 feet up a steep em bankment where a passer by found her and called for help. >> it's mind boggling that a little girl at that age could do something like that. she's -- wow. she's a survivor. >> the father did not survive. the girl says they were returning home to los angeles after a party. investigators say that alcohol did play a role in the crash. a key defense witness in the jodi arias trial back on the stand today and he could face more questions from the jury. the prosecutor will continue to cross-examination dr. richard samuels. he claims that she suffers from

pstd and cannot remember details about killing her ex-boyfriend. the next witness for the defense expected to be a domestic violence expert. so veterans groups want an apology from cbs and now they have it. the network aired this statement before "the amazing race" last night. >> we want to apologize to veterans, particularly those who served in vietnam as well as to their families and any viewers who were offended by the broadcast. >> the apology coming after party of the previous week's episode was filmed where american b-52 was shot down during the vietnam war. veterans groups say using the wreckage as a prop was offensive and they were upset with the song that they learned that glorified the communist party's victory. the apology has been accepted. and another sign that new york city is slowly recovering from the devastation of hurricane sandy, brooklyn's luna park in the coney island, folks, it's officially open again.

they hopped on iconic rides like the wonder wheel and the cyclone roller coaster. the amusement park's electrical system had been completely wiped out, had to be replaced after the storm surge destroyed them. >> cyclone is totally scary. >> i don't go on any roller coasters. >> it's fun. only mother nature kept tiger woods from returning to the top of the golf world on sunday. after rolling in a birdie putt on the second hole in the final round of bay hill yesterday, a dangerous thunderstorm moved in. it suspended play until this morning. this keeps tiger from returning to number one in the world. he'll get there in he wins this tournament. the players barely getting off the course in time. winds clocked at 62 miles an hour. they took down trees and knocked over a tv tower. an inch and a half of rain falling in less than an hour. it left the fairways just unplayable, underwater. the tournament resumes this morning at 10:00 a.m. tiger holds a three-stroke lead. i think he's only lost twice

when he's head into the final rounds with the lead. so a pretty good chance. >> people love a comeback story. >> this is quite a comeback. a mystery on the campus of brown university this morning. the fbi now joining the search for this missing student. we're going to have more from rhode island straight ahead. hey. they're coming. yeah. british. later. sorry. ok...four words... scarecrow in the wind... a baboon... monkey? hot stew saturday!? ronny: hey jimmy, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? jimmy: happier than paul revere with a cell phone. ronny: why not? anncr: get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. [ construction sounds ] ♪ [ watch ticking ] [ engine revs ] come in. ♪ got the coffee.

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for a full 60 days. use promo code: gethelp. plus get this document shredder free-- but only if you act right now. call the number on your screen now! a public memorial service for colorado's prison chief will be held today amid tight security. there is a lot of questions about what or who might have motivated his killer. tom clements was killed tuesday in his driveway. police believe the man who pulled the trigger, a 28-year-old white supremacist and parolee evan ebel who was killed in a shootout in texas. what's not clear yet is whether he acted alone. cnn's jim spellman is in colorado springs. really, officials taking no chances with so many high profile public officials in one place today.

>> reporter: that's right. we expect security to be tight here. when you press officials for details, they're really not giving anything away. they say that's a security concern in itself if they were to reveal their prioperational methods. an investigation going on behind prison walls to find out if evan ebel, the alleged gunman in this case, was working with someone else. if so, they feel the public officials we see here today will be a threat. the colorado governor who was friends with tom clements, the man he hired and had to lure away from missouri to be his prison head but also with the father of alleged shooter evan ebel. their relationship goes back 30 plus years. so he's really getting it emotionally from both sides. he's expected to be here today, in fact, closing the office until 1:00 this afternoon so that everybody can come to the service. here's the governor yesterday speaking to candy controly on "state of the union." >> i sort of felt like i was in

a -- i call it a nightmare but i couldn't wake up from. all these things were happening to people that i loved and they didn't seem to be connected in any way. to me, the emotional toll has been much deeper than, you know, worrying about security. >> reporter: and, of course, mr. clements' wife and two daughters has to be incredibly emotional for them. they had a private ceremony yesterday and they'll be here today for the public ceremony. >> jim spellman, thanks very much. a student at brown university has been missing now for more than a week. detectives in rhode island are stumped. the 22-year-old was last seen on march 16th. he apparently left his apartment without his wallet or his cell phone. and now the fbi is helping providence police search for him. he was on an improved leave from brown. michael bloomberg putting money where his mouth is in the battle against gun violence. he is shelling out $12 million

for ads. his group mayors against illegal guns is mounting the ad campaign to combat the national rifle associati association's ad blitz against universal background checks. here's the nra's ceo firing back against the mayor on "meet the press." >> criminals aren't going to be checked. the shooters in tucson and aurora and newtown are not going to be checked. >> they've been sending small contributions to send a message to the billionaire mayor that he can't buy america. >> i thought that was the most interesting part of that whole interviewing saying you can't use your billions to buy your way in this. >> he brought up the soda ban. he brought up everything. an appeal to save your saturday mail. letter carriers rallied to keep current delivery schedule. congress and the usps have not seen eye-to-eye on this issue at

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it is 49 minutes after the hour. happy monday. the calendar may say spring but we are not in spring, folks. from missouri to pennsylvania, millions of people getting hammered by wind, rain, and snow. and the severe weather isn't done yet. parts of eastern indiana, western ohio under a winter storm warning through early this afternoon. the system continuing to track eastward. >> secretary of state john kerry is still in the middle east this morning. on sunday he met with the iraqi president but apparently made little progress convincing him to stop allowing the flow of arms and troops that are helping to fuel syria's bloody civil war. kerry is accusing iraq of helping the syrian president by allowing fighters to crass to syria from iraq. authorities in england have not found any evidence of any third party involvement in the death of billionaire russian

businessman, 67-year-old boris berovsky was found dead. police have not found the reason for death yet. he was a vocal critic of russian president vladimir putt in. so cadillac on a hot tin roof that, is the line of the morningment maybe the picture of the morning, too. the driver was heading down a hill near los angeles. he couldn't stop. the cadillac rounded a corner and went airborne. >> that's when i i saw the air bags deploy. i couldn't see where we were going from there. the view was disturbed. myself and my husband is very, very lucky. >> a neighbor used a ladder to help get the couple down. it took a crane to get the cadillac off. authorities say there was a man inside the house.

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all right. we're taking a look at the top cnn trends on the web this morning. this one is a good one. a battle between a florida gator and a florida deputy. the reptile wandered up to a middle school just as the kids were getting out of school. deputy jessica mcgregor, the school's resource officer, decided she could not wait for the trapper. she got some rope and tape and she took care of business. she also says she learned how to handle gators as a kid. i guess that's a good thing. you would not want to try this as an amateur at poem. the deputy, she join us live at 8:00 on "starting point."

that is eastern time. that's amazing. good for her. >> good for her. all right, folks. anything -- anything more exciting than watching tilda swinton catch zs? nothing. the oscar winning actress is on display at the museum of modern art in new york city. her exhibit is called the maybe. she's done this before in europe. but this is her first time sleeping in a box. first time, on american soil. she only does it a few times a year and the appearances are unscheduled. i'm going right after the show. >> this is the american sleeping debut. good for her. >> exactly. >> good for her. 20 grand and a close encounter with kevin durant, not a bad weekend for justin dougherty. he got a chance to try the half court shot for $20,000 at yesterday's game. you see he sunk it. >> nailed it. >> and talk about a man who has priorities in order. the first thing he did, he ran straight for his girlfriend. smart move! smart move! then he went to centre court and

got tackled by kevin durant, that's bag ebigger hug. not a bad birthday celebration. a lot of people are hitting the half court shots. >> just a week or two ago. >> happy to see it. good for him. kevin durant, very excited there. to check out these trends and other trends go, to cnn.com/trends. "early start" continues right now. whiteout in washington. a live look right here at the capitol dome. the calendar says spring but the scene out size says snow from the midwest to the atlantic seaboard. amanda knox in a new fight for her freedom. a court hearing to determine if she'll be tried yet again for murder. cage match, man versus shark. a tourist terrified when a great white gets way, way too close. and cinderella is still dancing. florida gulf coast in the dunk

city act headed to the sweet 16. good morning, everyone. happy monday. i'm poppy harlow. this is "early start." >> i'm john berman, it is monday, march 25th. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. we're going to begin with that collective grown across half a dozen states as people clean up from rain, snow and hail. the mess is not over yet. from missouri to pennsylvania, millions of people are dealing with this slushy, awful mix. it was dangerous in indianapolis yesterday as cars collided on slick, icy roads. you have to look at this scene in kansas city, missouri. it's spring! the storm is causing significant descriptions at lambert international airport. parts of ohio are under winter storm warning through early this afternoon. the system is continuing to track eastward. we have it covered for you. susan candiotti is in dayton, ohio. jennifer delgado is in the cnn weather center in atlanta.

let's start with the snow and susan. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, john. you can see that it's still lightly coming down. it started just after the sun went down last night. it's been snowing steadily ever since. in this region, in the dayton area, here's what i would estimate. okay. i have a chalk board here sort of. anywhere from five to maybe eight inches of snow. and until 2:00 this afternoon at the very least. roads are treacherous in many spots here and it has been a wild weather weekend from the colorados to the southeast. icy roads, slippery going near st. louis. as a pickup truck slides down a street. just about everyone is tired of winter weather. in spring. >> it's crazy. i'm just sick of all the snow. like i was so ready for it back at christmas but now i'm over it. >> reporter: plows were tripling up in some parts of missouri as relentless snow blanketed highways. at lambert st. louis international airport, nasty

weather forcing cancellations. >> right now it could be a long day sitting around waiting. one flight has been rerouted. >> reporter: the severe weather sweeping in to the south. high winds uprooting trees in central florida. >> can't believe the tree fell on the car. could have got a lot worse than i did. >> reporter: violent thunderstorms temporarily washing out tiger woods' shot at a number one ranking after two holes. at the arnold palmer invitational broken tree limbs and flooded fairways postponing the tournament. at orlando international airport a wind gust clocked at 86 miles an hour. a jet swept against a hangar. in kansas city, about eight inches of snow forced churches to call off services. coloradans were among the first to feel the storm's fury, whiteout conditions, 150 mile stretch of interstate shut down, even a major pileup on i-25 at left a tractor trailer in flames. by late sunday in indiana and

ohio, skies opened up, dropping freezing rain and snow. making people wonder, where is spring? >> when it comes, it comes. this is ohio. we get snow. >> everybody says oh, yeah, spring is around the corner. >> he's pretty cute, isn't he? but there's nothing cute with the cleanup that's going to be involved in this. checking out the roads in this section they're not too bad. the snow plows have been out all night. the salt trucks, too. but in many areas of the dayton region, there is still a lot of wet, sticky snow out there. the temperatures still below freezing so there could be some black ice out there, as well. john, not over yet here. >> not over. susan candiotti in snowy dayton, ohio, thanks. and parts of kentucky and tennessee people have been dealing with hail and very strong winds. >> that's crazy. >> yuck. ireporters sending us that video from their front porches, from their apartment windows. so big question, when are we

going to get a break from all of this extreme weather? we talk about it every single day. jennifer delgado joining us from the cnn weather center in atlanta. what's ahead? getting better? getting worse? >> you know we're going to go through a period this morning and this afternoon of more snow out there. but long-term it looks like we're going to see snow chances going away. now we start off with the snow out there. it's coming down, as i said, from illinois all the way down towards areas including trenssy and spreading over towards pennsylvania, even washington, d.c. getting into the snow. in fact, let's take a live look this morning of the capitol dome. the dome getting some snow out there. and it is looking really good out there. the heavy snow is going to be coming down in the morning hours. so that's a look at d.c. as i take you back over to our radar and show you a bit more of what's happening across the mid-atlantic, look at the snow coming down to areas, maryland, as well as into northern parts of virginia. driving along interstate 95, we are going to be looking at some tricky travel delays out there, especially as we get more of that rain and potential for a

little bit of sleet working in there. pennsylvania, pittsburgh you're going to be looking at snow. and this, as i said, is going to stick around through the morning, through the afternoon, we'll start off from parts of the ohio valley, you have the low there. that one's going to be basically just sucked up by this low off the coast. that is what's going to be providing the snow for areas like southern parts of jersey, as well as into new york city. the five boroughs, you could see anywhere between 1 and 3 inches of snowfall. the good news is, new england you're not even going to really touch into the snow. the low is going to be pulling offshore. as we look at some of the warnings and advisories out there, want to point out areas including indiana, ohio, we're talking 1 to 4 inches, 4 to 6 inches for regions including cincinnati, as well as into columbus. and then right along the mountains, 6 to 12 inches of snowfall. yes, that's good for the skiers. but, we are expecting some travel delays today. for d.c. metro, an hour or more. the same for philadelphia, indianapolis, as well as columbus. you're looking at delays, and then for atlanta, also some delays.

overall, though, you asked me is it going to be quieter over the next couple days? it is. notice we don't have any really big storm systems coming out. it is going to be cold guys. 20 to 25 degrees below average for this time of year. >> 25 below average, jennifer? >> yes. even worse in parts of the plains, 35. >> so much for spring. jennifer delgado, thank you, appreciate it. well the united states formally handing over control of a very controversial prison to authorities in afghanistan. fulfilling an agreement between secretary of defense chuck hagel and afghan president hamid karzai. the facility near the bagram air base has been a thorny issue between the two countries. there have been many allegations of prisoner abuse there. the prison is right now known as the afghan national detention facility. secretary of state john kerry in the middle east again this morning. on sunday he met with iraqi president nuri al maliki but made little headway convincing him to stop allowing the flow of arms and troops which are helping to fuel syria's bloody

civil war. secretary kerry is abusing iraq of helping syrian president bashar al assad arm fighters from iran to cross into syria from iraq. and new this morning, former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky breaking his silence from behind bars. a documentary filmmaker saying he has recorded telephone conversations with sand us ki that will air today on nbc. the family of the late joe paterno, the head football coach whose career ended in disgrace are already speaking out. they called the recording quote a sad and unfortunate development saying it's transparently self-serving, and yet another insult to the victims and anyone who cares about the truth in this tragic story. a public memorial service for colorado's prison chief will be held today in colorado springs. tom clement was laid to rest yesterday in a private funeral. he was shot and killed tuesday in his driveway. the parolee authorities believe did it was killed thursday in a shutout in texas.

he's also believed to have killed a pizza deliveryman. and the supreme court takes up the issue of same-sex marriage starting tomorrow dozens of people have been camping out in front of the court since friday, braving the freezing weather, trying to get a seat, a rare seat at this historic hearing. the court will hear oral arguments on california's proposition 8 tomorrow on wednesday they will take up the defense of marriage act. both of those laws ban same-sex marriage. we will not get a decision from the high court until later this year. a $13 billion plan is in place to bail out cyprus. the european union agreeing to rescue the island nation from economic collapse. the deal shrinks the bloat the banking system, some banks with balances above 100,000 euros. it could suffer heavy losses. the deal also calls for dismantling of the popular bank of cyprus with shareholders and bond holders expected to be pretty much wiped out. one lucky powerball winner in new jersey holding a ticket worth $338.3 million this

morning. we now know that the winning ticket was sold at the love's travel store. anyone go there? anyone buy a ticket. this is the fourth largest jockpot in the game's history. the lump sum payout $221 million. if you're wondering what the winning numbers are, here you go, 17, 29, 31, 52, 55, powerball, 31. >> love's travel store. for the first time ever in the ncaa tournament, a 15 seed is dancing into the sweet 16. florida gulf coast made history, dunk city they call them. and man are they awesome. the eagles knocked off san diego state 81-71 last night. they've only been a division one team for six years. they've only been eligible for the tournament for two years. now they have to beat their state rival florida gators friday night to make it to the elite eight. these are your remaining match-ups on thursday night. wichita state versus la salle. arizona versus ohio state.

indiana taking on syracuse. and marquette against miami. on friday night, it is the number one seed louisville versus oregon. michigan state against duke. kansas taking on michigan and then the match-up we just told you about, florida against florida gulf coast. this just in by the way, i'm no longer in last place in the cnn -- >> in the brackets? >> fourth from last. >> i'm fourth from last. but that's not last. >> that's not last. always looking at the bright side. >> christina -- chris continue romans, early morning and zoraida, they're beating you. >> zoraida is in first place, romans is in second. but i'm not in last. >> okay, berman. folks it was the murder trial that captivated the world's attention. it could happen again. you know that face, amman today knox. we're going to take you live to rome where a decision could come down any moment on a potential retrial in that murder case. plus a great white gives some underwater adventurer es more than they bargained for.

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italy getting ready to make their case before that nation's highest court. they're trying to retry amanda knox for murder. the american student has been free since an appellate court overturned her conviction for stabbing and killing a british student meredith kercher back in 2007. the one-day hearing could also free knox of slander charges. that would open the door for her to successfully sue her accusers. ben wedeman is live in rome with the very latest. ben, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, poppy. the court session has begun. they are looking at 14 different cases today, and amanda knox's case is case number nine. so we may be waiting for some time to hear whether this court decides this is the end for amanda knox's legal ordeal in italy. or it could be the beginning of yet another sensational trial. an emotionally overcome amanda knox is led from an italian

courtroom moments after learning she was free at last. the murder conviction against her and former boyfriend raffaele sollecito overturned on appeal. that was october 2011. they had spent four years in prison for the 2007 sexual assault and murder of her roommate, british exchange student meredith kercher. it was a tabloid case that riveted the media, attracting an army of journalists to the medieval town of perugia where knox and kercher had been studying italian language and culture. knox's tearful return to her family home in seattle, washington, seemed like the end of her ordeal. but it may not have been the end after all. the prosecution is demanding a retrial and will appeal the conviction before the italian supreme court in rome. the wheels of italian justice, however, grind slowly. if the acquittal is overturned,

the case could go to an appellate court. if that happens, knox may have to return to italy. if she refuses, the italian authorities could appeal to the u.s. government for her extradition. if the acquittal is upheld, it's case over. rudy gaudet, a native of the ivory coast who was raised here is serving a 16-year prison term for kercher's murder. now, the lawyer for amanda knox, before entering the court this morning, said that amanda knox is confident in the italian justice system, and she's hoping to return to this country some day, as a free woman. poppy? >> ben wedeman live from rome for us this morning. ben, thank you. 15 minutes after the hour right now. let's bring you up to speed. the calendar may say spring but we're not done digging out of the snow yet. from missouri to pennsylvania, millions of people getting hammered by wind, rain, snow and general awfulness and the severe weather is not done yet.

parts of eastern indiana and western ohio are under a winter storm warning since early this afternoon. and the system is headed this way, coming east. a sad story this morning. a group sky dive taking a tragic turn. an instructor for students and a student from iceland found dead in a wooded area in zephyr hills, florida. investigators say that neither of them attempted to deploy their main parachutes and may have somehow lost their altitude awareness. their backup parachutes apparently were activated automatically but that happened too late to save them. we're told the student who was killed had previously executed successful jumps. this is strange. the search is on for a missing vail containing a killer disease. it went missing from a lab freezer at the university of texas medical branch in galveston. the lab director said the vail contained an emerging disease that caused deadly outbreaks in venezuela and that there's been no breach in security and no indication of any wrongdoing.

however the cdc has been notified. the federal government pry forrized guanarito for research because it has the potential to be used by terrorists. >> and this is a strange story. houston authorities blowing the whistle on a train conductor they say that this man robert hartman confessed to stealing more than 50 train horns since 2009. then selling them on ebay. those horns cost about $1500 a pop. union pacific officials say every train engine missing a horn has to be completely taken out of service until it is fixed and replaced. they say hartman's actions cost that railroad more than half a million bucks. >> who steals train whistles? rand paul getting mellow when it comes to marijuana. he was showing more and more of a liberal side on fox this sunday when he said it was time to soften some of the nation's harsh drug laws. >> the last two presidents could conceivably have been put in jail for their drug use, and i really think, you know, look

what would have happened? it would have ruined their lives. they got lucky. but a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky. they don't have good attorneys and they go to jail for these things and i think it's a big mistake. >> actually i think it would be the last three presidents, but who's counting? >> chris wallace there with quickly questioning paul's math there mentioning that bill clinton, of course, did not inhale. some adventure seekers getting way too close for comfort with some great white sharks off the coast of south africa. take a look, folks. this is just like a scene out of -- >> whoa! whoa! >> oh, my gosh! >> the tourists thought they were inside that shark cage as great whites just checked out the bait dangling outside of the barge. but one shark skipped that bait got straight in towards the divers. his entire head went inside the cage, narrowly missing two divers. as frightening as this looks nobody got hurt and the man who shot that incredible video brian

plumber will be our guest in the eight clock hour eastern time on "starting point." you heard the unbleeped version. >> it's sort of fantastic. words that i've never heard before. 18 minutes after the hour right now. even if you are not washing in on the stock market you could be feeling the effects of gas prices this morning. christine romans shows us where both are headed. coming up next. i'm a conservative investor. but that doesn't mean i don't want to make money. i love making money. i try to be smart with my investments. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

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start." minding your business this morning, stock futures up across the board, investors happy about that. bailout deal in cyprus, christine romans joins us this morning. i feel like -- well i know this got done so much more quickly than the agony over greece. small country, big deal for investors here in the u.s. >> smaller economy. this was a very different kind of bileout. but futures are up this morning. dow futures up by 38 points. looks like it could be a good morning. folks are relieved that cyprus seems to be going in the right direction. the eu is behind it. now the last week of the first quarter, check out your investments this morning if you haven't looked in awhile. make sure you're balanced correctly for your age and your financial goals, because the s&p 500 is up more than 9% over the first three months of 2013. you can see this rally really took off around last november. 9% would be a solid return for the entire year. you've seen 9% in less than a quarter. everyone keeps asking me when is it going to end? that is impossible to predict. there's one ratio that wall street looks at, shows prices are cheap right now. at least historically speaking.

two ways to measure stock prices, right? the share price, and something else called a price-to-earnings ratio. sounds nerdy. it's important. boring but important. and people are making money looking at this gauge. it measures the value of the stock market compared to what companies are earnings and their earnings reports. at the end of the 1990 bull market the price-to-earnings ratio was 29. 2002 to 2007 and in the late 1980s, it was 17 the p/e ratio. the historical average during good times and bad is 16. today it is 15. what does that mean for your retirement account or for your investments? it means you wouldn't be -- it wouldn't be a huge surprise if the rally kept going at least from that historical standard. another way to measure the market it's not like when alan greenspan in the '90s said irrational exuberance, you had the p/e go up to 29. we're at 15 right here. >> one other thing do we have to know about our money?

>> everyone is invested in gasoline. 47% of you say you don't own stocks. everyone feels it when gas prices go up. finally some relief on gas prices. aaa says the national average for gallon of regular $3.67. down 11 cents in a month. looks compared to a year ago. 21 cents below what it was last time -- this time last year. you've got a little bit of extra money in your pocket. gas buddy says we could see another small increase in mid-april or may ahead of the summer driving season. >> we're going to listen to you christine romans. do you know why? >> why, john berman? >> because you are winning the cnn anchor bracket challenge. i misspoke earlier and said you were in second place. that is not, in fact, true. you are winning. >> i had to fact check you. i am not number two, i am number one. i will trash talk as long as i remain number one. i would like to know what the ratio of the average you've spent watching college basketball is like 100-to-1, at least? >> at least. >> so i took the fundamentals of each team and i pretended like it was a stock and i made a stock portfolio, that was my bracket. and so far it's working.

>> going all the way you have. >> i have michigan state going all the way. and they're doing well right now, right? >> do you even know if they're still in? you don't even know! this is criminal. >> berman is fourth to last. my friend john, dead last. >> john lemon is dead last? >> and romans is winning. >> she wants to know if her team is still in it. this is not justice, ladies and gentlemen. >> i wish i had money on it. that's the only thing. >> make a late bet after the show, guys. christine, thank you. a gator lurking dangerously close to a school, coming up, a mom caught on camera in a life or death struggle with that beast. matt's brakes didn't sound right... ...so i brought my car to mike at meineke...

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so much for spring. winter still bearing down over a huge swath of the country right now, and it is not over yet. and a young girl's survival instinct. how a 9-year-old managed to hike for help through treacherous terrain after a deadly car crash. and a dose of reality for the "amazing race." outrage from war veterans leads to a prime-time apology. welcome back to "early start," everyone, great to see you. i'm john berman. >> i'm poppy harlow in for

zoraida sambolin. thanks for joining us this morning. we begin with a brutal beginning to the work week, because the very severe weather. people in six states waking up to a big cleanup from missouri to pennsylvania. millions of people battling rain, snow, and potentially dangerous wind this morning. all that slush making roads disastrous, and treacherous. perfect conditions for fender benders. look at the scene in kansas city, missouri. it is causing significant disruptions at lambert st. louis international airport. the storm not even done yet, parts of eastern indiana, and western ohio are under a winter storm warnin through early this afternoon, and that system continues to track eastward. we've got it covered for you. our shannon travis is in potomac, maryland. jennifer delgado is in the cnn weather center in atlanta. shannon, you got the short end of the stick in the storm. we're going to start with you. >> short end of the stick, indeed. when we last spoke i gave you a very unscientific measure of how much snow was actually down here on the ground. i said about two inches.

this is definitely about three inches. my finger goes all the way down in there. just to give you a sense of how fast and heavy it's coming down, we're on i-270. this is a main artery into d.c. commuters from as west as west virginia, as north as pennsylvania, use this to get into d.c. just want to show you, we've been monitoring it the whole time. right now we're still moving a little bit steady but we have been seeing a number of brake lights suggesting that there is definitely a slowdown at least just ahead of us from over here. another concern, obviously, is again how heavy this snow is, weighing down on trees and possibly bringing down lines. look at this. the snow is basically just building up on the branches there. right? i'm shaking it a little bit. but imagine actually shaking onto a power line. so that's obviously a concern, as well. forecasters say that these conditions will continue like this so they're warning drivers, be careful.

slush, snow, slippery conditions on these roads. also we're hearing about a number of school closings in west virginia, maryland, and virginia. poppy? >> i love your scientific measurements of how much snow. putting your finger. >> exactly. >> these strong storms brought down trees in central florida. and we're talking about some really big mammoth trees. the roots exposed. look at that. the question everyone wants to know now is when will spring actually show up for real? let's bring in meteorologist jennifer delgado. >> hi, john. that video you just saw coming out of florida, that's the result of heavy rainfall and strong winds. right now we're talking all snow from illinois over to areas including pennsylvania, northern virginia, as well as into maryland. now the snow it's light right now through areas including indianapolis. let's show you what it looks like. earlier we have snow plows blowing through the streets. this, of course, after the region picked up 6.4i6r7b8gs of

snowfall but many areas have already seen more than that. head over to the radar and talk about what's happening across parts of the mid-atlantic. that snow burst moving through northern virginia making its way through maryland. this means we are going to be dealing with snow through the morning hours as well as through the early afternoon. that's where we're going to see the heaviest stuff coming down. but this also means areas like south jersey, you're going to be looking at heavy snowfall. and this is going to mean for slippery conditions if you're going to be driving this morning up and down interstate 95. snow totals, we'll go 1 to 4 for areas including parts of indiana. 4 to 6 for regions including ohio, and that includes columbus. and then along the mountains, 6 to 12 inches, really good news for those ski resorts especially for this late in the season. and then for washington, d.c. we are predicting 1 to 3 inches of snowfall. and then for the south shores of jersey, anywhere between 3 to 4 inches of snowfall. for the five boroughs of new york city, roughly 1 to 3

inches. so, no snow relief for you guys there. but as we talk about some of the totals out there, look at st. louis. they picked up 12.4 inches of snowfall. that is a record. denver 11.6. now despite all the snow out there, we are going to see more delays as we go through the afternoon. that includes d.c. metro, philadelphia, as well as indianapolis and columbus. back over to you guys. >> not just delays but major delays. >> major delays. >> you're right. >> all right, jennifer delgado thanks to you. secretary of state john kerry trying to stop the bloodshed in syria's civil war as he travels in the middle east this morning. yesterday he met with the iraqi president nuri al maliki but apparently he made little headway convincing him to stop allowing the flow of arms and troops into syria. secretary kerry wants tighter scrutiny of overflights in iraq. he's accusing iraq of helping syrian president assad by allowing armed fighters from iran to cross into syria from iraq. authorities in mississippi believe a state lawmaker shot and killed herself over the weekend.

63-year-old jessica upshaw's body was found yesterday in former state representative's home. she served in the mississippi legislature for nearly ten years. she represented the district along the gulf coast. an amazing tale of survival by a 9-year-old girl after a horrifying accident that killed her father. the california highway patrol says she was with him in an suv when it veered off california's remote sierra highway in rolled hundreds of feet down an embankment. so the girl, who had only cuts and bruises, escaped. she ran up the hill in complete darkness to a nearby house. snowe one answered. so she checked on her father again then climbed 200 feet up a steep embankment where a passerby found her and called for help. >> it's mind boggling that a little girl at that age could do something like that. she's -- wow. she's a survivor. >> as we said the father did not survive. the girl says they were returning home to los angeles after a party. investigators saying that alcohol played a role in the crash.

a key defense witness in the jodi arias trial back on the stand today, and he could face more questions from the jury. the prosecutor will continue to cross-examine dr. richard samuels. he claims arias suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and cannot remember details about killing her ex-boyfriend travis alexander. the next witness for the defense is expected to be a domestic violence expert. despite snow in much of the country a little sign of spring here in new york city. brooklyn's luna park in coney island is officially open for business. politicians and a few others braved chilly weather sunday to ride iconic rides like the wonder wheel and wooden cyclone roller coaster. the electrical systems had to be pretty much completely replaced after the storm surge from hurricane sandy back in october. online this morning, veterans groups want an apology from cbs. the network has given them just that. airing the statement before the "amazing race" last night. listen. >> we want to apologize to

veterans. particularly those who served in vietnam, as well as to their family, and any viewers who were offended by the broadcast. >> part of the previous week's episode was filmed where an american b-52 was shot down during the vietnam war. veterans groups said using the wreckage as a prop was offensive. the head of the american legion has accepted cbs' apology. also trending this morning, a battle royale. the reptile versus the resource officer. a seven-foot gator got a bit too close to i middle school near orlando just as kids were getting out. so deputy jessica mcgregor, the school's resource officer, decided she was not going to wait for the official trapper. so she got some rope, some duct tape, and she took care of business. mcgregor said she learned how to handle gators as a kid. she's going to tell us all about how she pulled this off on "starting point" coming up on the 8:00 eastern hour. so stay with us for that. look at the alligator flashing

his tail around. mystery on a college campus. the fbi joining the search for a missing brown university student. we'll have more from rhode island coming up. plus video that begs the question, how on earth did this happen? >> quite a parking space. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality.

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a certified financial planner professional. cfp -- let's make a plan. christine romans is here to tell us what is coming up on "starting point." what are we doing? >> well, what are we doing, john? look, it's spring but it does not feel like it. after dropping a foot of snow in parts of the midwest, a major storm now moving east.

winter warnings are in effect for at least a dozen states, and a lot of folks are in for a messy commute. we have live team coverage top of the hour. then, could amanda knox find herself back behind bars, despite being acquitted of her british roommate's murder? this morning italian judges will decide if she and her ex-boyfriend will face another trial. plus, heart-pounding video. a great white shark skips the bait and goes right for the diver inside this cage. that shark's whole head inside. there are people in there. amazingly everyone's okay. we're talking live with the man who filmed this unbelievable video. and my hero, snooki is here. the reality tv star is talking about life as a new mother. you don't want to miss this. i decided i probably won't ask her about the cyprus bailout. >> she's into central banking. >> but i'm really excited to

talk to her, she's lost i think 42 pounds. she's 4'9", now weighs 102 pounds. she's really proud of herself for losing all that baby weight. we'll talk to snooki about brand snooki and all that. folks there will be a public memorial today for colorado's prison chief and security will be extremely tight. that's because there are still a lot of questions about what or who might have motivated his killer. tom clements was laid to rest yesterday in a private funeral. he was shot and killed on tuesday in his own driveway. police believe 28-year-old white supremacist and parolee evan spencer ebel pulled the trigger. he was killed thursday in a shoot-out with police in texas. but it's not clear whether or not he acted alone. that's the big question at this hour. our jim spellman is live for us in colorado, springs. jim, officials there taking no chances with so many high profile public officials in one place today. right? >> that's right. they're very reluctant to show

too much detail. we expect tight security. the man suspected in this shooting, evan ebel, is a member of a white supremacist prison gang called the 211. investigators have been working inside the prison and outside talking to members of this gang trying to find out if there was somebody else involved, if there was a conspiracy, if someone had put out a hit on tom clements. that, of course, puts other public officials potentially in danger. they want to be sure that this is an absolutely safe event. we know top law enforcement officials including the people leading the investigations will be here at the memorial today. caught in all the middle of this is the governor of colorado. not only was he close friends with tom clements who was killed, as a pretty remarkable coincidence, close friends with the father of evan ebel. he really feels that he's kind of caught between all of this. you can hear the emotion when he talks about it. listen to him speaking to candy crowley on "state of the union" yesterday. >> it sort of felt like i was in a -- caught in a nightmare that i couldn't wake up from.

all these things kept happening. people that i loved they didn't seem to be connected in any way. the emotional toll is much deeper than worrying about security. >> and of course, poppy, we don't want to forget tom clements' wife lisa and their two daughters. they'll be here today. it's been obviously an unbelievably stressful and awful week for them. poppy? >> just tragic. jim, thank you. 46 minutes after the hour right now. let's bring you up to speed. secretary of state john kerry pointing an accusing finger at iraq. on sunday kerry met with iraqi president nuri al maliki but apparently made little progress convincing him to stop allowing the flow of arms and troops that are helping to fuel syria's bloody civil war. kerry is accusing iraq of helping syrian president bashar al assad by allowing arms and fighters from iran to cross syria from iraq. and authorities in england say at this point they have not found any evidence of any third party involvement in the death of a billionaire russian

businessman, 67-year-old boris berz zof ski was found dead in his home on saturday. found dead in his bathroom. the door to that bathroom, locked from the inside. police have not determined the cause of death as of yet. he was living in england after a falling-out with the russian government. he was a vocal critic of russian president vladimir putin. and detectives are stumped in the search for a brown university student who has been missing now for more than a week. 22-year-old sunil tripathi was last seen around campus on march 16th. he apparently left his apartment without his wallet or his cell phone. his family says he's been battling depression, and the fbi is now helping providence police search for him. that young man was on an approved leave of absence from brown. all right check this out. cadillac on a hot tin roof. yes that is the line of the morning. the picture of the morning. it is not hot tin but still the driver was heading down a hill near los angeles, could not stop, that's when the cadillac rounded a corner and went airborne.

>> we hit the corner, the air bag deployed and i don't even see where we're going from there, because the view was obstructed, and i just we stop, i could see my husband's really, really lucky. >> very lucky indeed. a neighbor used a ladder to help get the couple down. it took a crane to get the cadillac off. authorities say there was a man inside the house. probably surprised, but not hurt. and it's david versus goliath with a florida flavor. coming up, the bracket busting cinderella upstart about to take on the ncaa powerhouse.

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all right, breaking news. we just learned that secretary of state john kerry has landed in kabul, which is a surprise visit to afghanistan. he's scheduled to meet with afghanistan's president hamid karzai at the presidential palace. this is kerry's six it visit to afghanistan since president obama's first term began. but it is his first trip there as secretary of state. yesterday, secretary kerry was in iraq meeting with iraqi president nuri al maliki. so, other news, have you checked your bracket this morning? if you did, i bet you didn't have florida coast -- florida gulf coast in the sweet 16. andy scholes joins us now with the bleacher report. good morning, andy. >> good morning, guys. if anyone had the eagles winning two games in their bracket, it's probably a good chance they attend school at florida gulf coast because yesterday the eagles did something no one has ever done that's make the sweet 16 as a 15 seed.

it's their second year of being eligible for the tournament. florida gulf coast is making it look easy out there. they went on a 17-0 run in the second half to cruise past san diego state 81-71. the eagles now head to north texas where they will take on their home state traditional powerhouse, the florida gators in the sweet 16. tournament almost lost two more high seeds yesterday. ohio state's aaron craft rescued the buckeyes with the game-winning three with under a second to go as osu escaped with the win over iowa state. one seed indiana was also on the ropes against temple but victor oladipo was clutch down the stretch, part of a 10-0 run by the hoosiers to end the game. they won 58-52 to make their second straight trip to the sweet 16. nascar, joe l logono continues to make enemies. loganno and denny hamlin get tangled up. hamlin crashes hard into the wall. he would have to be airlifted to

hospital but would be okay after the race logano's troubles continued as tony stewart came after him. the two had to be separated. afterwards stewart didn't hold back his disdain. >> what the hell did he think i was mad about? some little [ bleep ] out of the infield. he wants to [ bleep ] about everybody else. he's the one that drives like a little [ bleep ] i'm going to [ bleep ] >> thanks, tony. >> thank you. >> tiger woods just one round away from reclaiming golf's number one ranking in the world. he currently leads the arnold palmer invitational by three strokes in the final round. check out this stroke to sergio garcia. sergio climbed the try, somehow successfully hit it back into the fairway. that tree was not a safe place to be later on as severe thunderstorms rolled through orlando postponing the final round until today. well this must be the year of the half-court shot. last night a fan was picked out of the crowd at the thunder game to take a shot for $20,000. he nailed it. gets tackled by kevin durant. to see the entire video head over to bleacherreport.com.

the miami heat streak continues. they beat the bobcats last night for their 26th win in a row. the heat will drop that number to six tonight when they play at orlando. >> is there any better story than florida gulf coast right now? >> no, there's not. >> can't be. it is absolutely not. thanks a lot, andy scholes, next on "starting point" we're watching for a decision in the amanda knox case. will she be tried for murder again?

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